Iris Three (State Dinner 7)
by Alexandra926
Summary: AU: Nine years after the events of Sundance. Deep space, the deep sea, and welcoming new arrivals. Starring Mark Watney, and the other Mark Watney, too.
1. Chapter 1

"Dad, what do I say?" Mark called to his dad, who was on the front porch.

"I don't know. Introduce yourself. Pretend you're stuck on Mars and people back on Earth are interested to hear how you're going to survive... being ten. Your rough life. Tell them about all your life-and-death problems."

"Funny, Dad." Mark turned back to the camera on his communicator and gave a very passable impression of his father's trademark half-smirk and waggled his fingers together to indicate his opinion on matters.

"Alright. So my name is Mark Watney, but not _that_ Mark Watney. The other one. I'm ten. My birthday was two days a go. And my parents forgot to throw a party for me-"

"Oh, for Christ's sake," muttered Mark from the porch.

"Yep, you heard that right, citizens of Earth, I didn't even get a birthday party; in fact, I spent my birthday waiting around all day-"

"You poor, poor kid," mocked his dad.

"For the best birthday present ever! Or maybe it's the worst? I don't know yet, how I feel about being a big brother to someone. But at least she was born on my birthday, right? So now I've got a two-day old baby sister. No more only-child-of-Mr.-famous. Also, now I've got someone to blame stuff on. That's going to be awesome."

"Except for you just mentioned that plan within my hearing. Whoops!" chimed in his dad.

Mark rolled his eyes at the camera.

"So like I said, I'm ten years old. I'm in the fourth grade at the school where my mom is a teacher. My best friend's name is George. He has a sister already, so he says he'll show me the ropes."

"My favorite subject in school is definitely... anything other than science. I hate science-"

"The hell you say?" His dad poked his head in from the porch, to be greeted by a familiar, sarcastic smirk. "You little monster." He shook his head, fondly.

"Haha, just messing with Dad. I love science, actually. And art. My teacher this year is Mr. Taylor, and sometimes I wind up getting in trouble for being-"

"A little smartass?" suggested his dad, offscreen.

"I was going to say 'too loud' but you see, citizens of Earth, what a potty- mouth Dad I have to live with? Mom makes him put money in a swear jar in the kitchen when he uses bad language. I bet half his paycheck winds up in that jar. Let's go see. Mom's going to crack down on him hard, too, now that we have a young and impressionable new family member." He smirked for the camera again, and the camera wobbled for a moment as Mark walked into the kitchen to show the five-gallon water bottle that was currently half-filled with change and bills.

"Baby sister, can you say, 'college fund'?" He mugged for the camera.

Mark angled the camera around to show the rest of the small kitchen. A backpack was slung around the back of one kitchen chair. "That's my homework. Saving it for later. My favorite thing is to remember it right at bedtime, so Mom and Dad have to let me stay up an extra hour to finish it. Smart, huh?"

The camera rounded back into the living room, and then into a small bedroom.

"This is my room. Or maybe I should say, 'our room'? Because my parents really didn't think this new baby thing out very well at all, am I right? A family of four, in a two-bedroom house with only one bathroom? Geez guys, call a Realtor already," he quipped.

"I hope my baby sister likes baseball," he said with a grin, as he panned the camera around the various posters of baseball players. "We don't really have a real baseball team here on the island, but my dad grew up in Chicago, so we're all Cubs fans in this house. See that guy? Ernie Banks. Mom named me after him, my middle name anyway, because I was born right after the Cubs finally won a World Series. After like a hundred and fifty years or something."

"People always think it's so weird that I was born while my Dad was off visiting another planet and all, and I guess it does sound strange. I didn't meet my dad until I was a year and a half old. I don't remember it at all. All that Mars and Sundance stuff was happening either before I was born or when I was too little to remember it."

"My dad's crew from the Ares mission though, they are still his best friends, and that means I get to be friends with their kids. Val is closest to me in age, but she's a girl and everything, so I wouldn't say she's like my best friend. More like a know-it-all older sister. She wants to go fishing, when she comes to visit on Monday. And we all know," he paused to look at the camera, pulling a mock-terrified face, "what Val wants, Val gets!" He rolled his eyes.

Mark paused for a moment as the camera headed back to the living room. "The only one of the Ares kids that was old enough to remember all that stuff as it was happening is probably Dave. He's fifteen, and goes to high school in Virginia. He's a lot older than me but we're pals because we're the only boys."

"No, you're not," came the long-suffering voice of his dad, offscreen.

"Oh, right. The Vogels have a son, too. He's a lot older than me! He's a grown-up. Doesn't count. Anyway, so all the rest are younger than me. All girls! Val has a sister, and Dave has two younger sisters. And the Lewises have dogs. Golden retrievers. Three of them. So unfair. I wish we had even just _one_ dog." Mark looked hopefully in the direction of the porch, making sure his voice carried.

"Not happening." came the voice of dad. The camera angled around to head outside to the small porch. Mark clambered up onto the porch swing and swung his legs as it creaked. He panned over to his dad, who had his gardening gloves on. He wielded his gardening shears at Mark menacingly, and mugged for the camera, and then went back to re-potting his plants.

"So this is our house," he continued as if he hadn't noticed, "which Mom picked out. You can tell, because ya know, it's pink. It didn't used to be this bright, but I guess my dad has a smart mouth, and yeah. Now it's like Pepto. I've lived here ever since I was born. Which, like I was saying before, happened while dad here was off playing spaceman."

His dad looked up again, and held his gloved hands up, fingers splayed. "Surprise!" he said, grinning.

"Yea, my dad here is getting experienced with the 'Surprise!' parenthood thing, don't you think?"

"C'mere, you punk." Mark tried to make a break for it, and the camera wobbled wildly as he was duly caught and his hair was ruffled by his dad as the two of them laughed.

"Aw, dad! You got _dirt_ in my hair!"

"Oh, did I? I'm sorry." He shook his gardening gloves out, careful to make sure all the contents landed on Mark. "So very sorry. Whoops," he deadpanned, "And it's not dirt, it's -"

" _Soil_ , yes. I know." Mark rolled his eyes. "Did I mention that my dad is a total nerd?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, I think you got something, Val!" Mark pointed to Val's line, bobbing wildly in the water.

Valya shrieked, jumping to her feet, and sliding a bit, as the little boat rocked back and forth in the waves.

"Whoa!" Chris steadied her, and then forced himself to back off. "You got this!" he encouraged her, as she started to reel it in.

Thirteen-year old Valya kept on reeling. "My arms are hurting! That fish is strong!" She laughed, trying to hold the line steady as the fish thrashed around, getting closer and closer to the boat.

"What _is_ that thing?" Chris asked, to nobody in particular. The fish jumped entirely out of the water, a silvery flash in the sunshine, as Val shrieked again.

"I think it's lunch!" joked young Mark, as he turned on his camera to record this momentous event. He'd caught his first fish a couple of years ago, but Val had only ever had a couple of close calls, so far. She had a huge smile on her face, as Chris watched her, practically glowing with pride. Val stood past his shoulder now, dark hair streaming in the wind, brown eyes lit up. She loved a challenge.

The four of them had really just gone out on the water today to enjoy the weather, and maybe see some dolphins, but the kids had wanted to try their hands at fishing, so Mark the elder had gotten some bait for them at the marina, as an afterthought.

Mark deftly grabbed Val's fish with a net, and dumped it into the cooler.

Val stared down at her catch. It had a yellow tail, but the rest of the fish was a bright, sleek silver-blue. "What is it, Uncle Mark?"

"Rainbow runner," he replied, as he measured it for her. "Not bad at all, squirt! Forty-eight centimeters!"

"Oh my gosh!" she squealed, "It's so pretty!"

Mark, the younger, rolled his eyes. "It's a _fish_."

"Gimme my fish," she ordered, "I want you to take a picture of us together!"

Now the other two occupants of the boat rolled _their_ eyes.

"Me and my fish," crooned Val, happily, awkwardly clutching the rainbow runner as it flopped around. Mark obligingly snapped the picture for her with his communicator, forwarding it far and wide.

"Okay, this thing is slimy. Gross! Take it, Uncle Mark."

By lunchtime, Valentina Johanssen-Beck had received congratulatory messages from two planets and three starships.

* * *

"I think we need a bigger house," Sophia joked, surveying the living room where people were literally elbow-to-elbow.

"You have an _engineer_ for a husband," pointed out Beth, with a smirk. "Have him design a second story."

Sophia whirled around and gave Mark a speculative gaze, eyebrows raised.

"Hey!" he held up his hands, "I'm a botanist, Jim! Not an architect!" He grinned, as Sophia rolled her eyes.

"Here," Sophia took advantage of Mark's open arms and deposited their new daughter into them, as she headed into the crowded kitchen to see to the food. Just about everyone had brought something, to add to the feast. Valya had received several compliments on her sushi platter. Out of respect for the host, however, there were no potato-related dishes.

Mark found a seat on the sofa, and wedged himself in between Melissa and Alex. He couldn't help it, he totally ignored them for a few minutes as he looked at his newborn daughter. So tiny, he thought. He cuddled her close, taking a moment to adjust the little pink hat that had slipped down over one tiny eyebrow. She had such a sweet little face, he thought. Her wispy dark reddish hair looked like Sophia's, but even Mark had to admit that her features were all delicate, feminine versions of his own.

"Is this baby girl ever going to get a name?" Melissa asked him, then. "She's a week old, poor thing, and how is her Ares auntie supposed to order her any monogrammed gifts? You're a baby shopping buzzkill, Watney." She held out her arms, making grabby motions with her hands.

Mark passed the baby over, obligingly.

"She's got a name, actually. We just thought we'd make it a dramatic reveal once we got everyone together, tonight." Mark grinned at her, knowing how much she hated it when vital information was being kept from her. She frowned at him.

"Watney." There was a warning tone in her voice. "What is her name. Tell me."

"Sorry, Commander," he apologized with a smirk. "No can do."

"Listen to this insubordination!" Rick teased. "Disobeying a direct order!"

"Maybe he's just picked a really bad name!" chimed in Marissa, with a smirk.

"Actually, our son suggested it." Mark volunteered.

"You let your ten-year old name the baby?" Alex looked incredulous.

 _That does not sound like a wise decision,_ Oaiea chimed, with her musical laughter. They were all used to the sound of her voice, by now. She smiled at Mark.

 _I wish to hold the newborn human_ , Ian held out his arms, towards Melissa. _Please_. He added, remembering his Earth manners, belatedly. Melissa looked up at Mark, questioningly.

"Not a chance in hell, man." Rick grinned at Ian, "It's my turn." Without further ado, he scooped the baby up and cuddled her to his shoulder, doing a well-practiced, soothing baby-bop. "She's a _sleepy_ girl," Martinez cooed at her in a baby-talk voice, patting her, as the rest of the crew snickered.

* * *

"I think it's a good thing that everyone's here," Mark started, "Because seriously, I don't think anyone else is going to fit!"

It was indeed, a packed house. Six former astronauts and their families, a former President and First Lady; even Mark's parents had made the trip from Chicago. Not to mention a couple of off-worlders. At the end of the day, after all the adventures and drama; this was his family. Maybe not the conventional kind, but a family nonetheless.

"Okay pal, go for it," Mark ruffled his son's hair as he gave him the floor. "Tell us what name you picked, for your baby sister."

Blushing, as the roomful of people shifted their attention towards him, he looked down for a moment, and then he began:

"A long time ago, before I was even born; way back, when _certain people_ ," he mugged at his grandfather, as people chuckled, "were still trying to convince people that space travel was a big waste of money," everyone laughed again at the absurdity of _that_ bygone mindset; "NASA was busy trying to save this guy over here."

Mark looked around, affecting an expression of pure innocence. Who, me? it said, plainly.

"There were a lot of people, actually, trying to help. They worked really hard, a lot of long hours, and they banded together, to build the Iris probe, to try and keep Dad alive until Ares Four could come back for him."

"Ares Four!" Martinez boomed, "Hail to the chief, baby!" he cheered, as eyes rolled skyward.

"That's _my_ line," Perry groaned.

"Well," young Mark continued, " _That_ one didn't work, but Earth didn't give up that easily. Even if it wasn't as likely to succeed, they worked twice as hard anyway, around the clock. They built Iris Two, and sent that, to try again."

"Which, as you guys know, might not have saved Dad's life in the way that NASA was thinking it would!" he joked, "But it got the attention of this lady right here," he smiled at Oaiea, "And that kicked off something a whole lot bigger than just saving one poor, lost space cadet." He grinned at his dad, again.

"So the way I see it," he continued, "we owe all of this," he gestured to everyone in the room, "to the two little probes that NASA named after one of the goddesses of the ocean and the skies. The goddess of rainbows. A messenger, like Hermes was."

Sophia passed the baby to him then, and he dropped a quick kiss to her forehead, and held her close to his heart.

"Iris Watney," he said. "Welcome to the family!"

* * *

The end


End file.
